Barney Miller, 1980-"Wojo" Recognizes Dangers of Agent Orange

In this 1980 episode of "Barney Miller" the dangers of Agent Orange are included as a major part of the script. In this 7th season of the show, broadcast just 5 years after the end of the war Detective Stanley "Wojo" Wojciehowicz (played by Max Gail, who narrated the documentary film, "Secret Agent") provides a primer on how Agent Orange affected those who were exposed as he takes a personal interest in a fellow vet whose crime spree may be related Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War... Original Air Date—11 December 1980, Episode 5.

Just Add Water! Senator Webb Replies

What follows is the reply from Senator Webb to a veteran regarding the Senator's stall tactics re: the additional 3 presumptive diseases.

Has the Senator forgotten his Veteran and Marine Corps roots?

Dear Mr. __________

Thank you for contacting my office regarding veterans affected by Agent Orange. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views.

Our nation has a special obligation to provide health care to our service members and veterans, particularly those with an injury or illness resulting from their service. I have spent my entire adult life advocating on behalf of veterans and will continue to fight for the best interests of the men and women who serve our nation in uniform. Furthermore, from 1977 to 1981 I had the honor of serving as a full committee counsel on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and spent a great deal of time working on this specific issue.

On March 25, 2010, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced his intention to add B-cell Leukemia, Parkinson's disease, and coronary artery disease to the list of presumptive conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange. This decision was taken without full consultation with the Congress. Consequently, during consideration of the bill to provide funding for this determination, I introduced an amendment clarifying that under existing law the VA is required to provide a 60-day congressional review period prior to spending funds under the proposed new regulation. I am a staunch defender of Congress's constitutional oversight responsibility. To that end, I have requested that the VA provide the scientific data used by the Secretary to make his determination. He is now scheduled to do so in a hearing that will be held in September.

As a Vietnam combat veteran, former full committee counsel to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and as a current member of the Senate Committees on Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs, I take a back seat to no one in my concern for our veterans. Your views on veterans affected by Agent Orange are very helpful to me and my staff, and I hope that you will continue to share your views with us in the years ahead. I would also invite you to visit my website at http://www.webb.senate.gov/ for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Thank you once again for contacting my office.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb
United States Senator
JW: pd

More on Pesticide Impurities

A supplement to the FLASH UPDATE of earlier today, provided by Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk-The Hatfield Group, Retired

Paul … more on what George Claxton posted on pesticide impurities.

Wayne

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es903915k


Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) Impurities in Pesticides: A Neglected Source of Contemporary Relevance

Eva Holt, Roland Weber, Gavin Stevenson and Caroline Gaus

The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (EnTox), 39 Kessels Road Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia, POPs Environmental Consulting, 73035 Gppingen, Germany, and The National Measurement Institute, Dioxin Analysis Unit, Pymble, NSW 2072, Australia

Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (14), pp 5409-5415

DOI: 10.1021/es903915k

Publication Date (Web): June 18, 2010

Copyright© 2010 American Chemical Society

* Address correspondence to either author. e-mail: e.holt@uq.edu.au;c.gaus@uq.edu.au.

The University of Queensland.

POPs Environmental Consulting.

The National Measurement Institute.
Abstract

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) may be formed during the manufacture of chlorinated pesticides, and can remain in the products as impurities. However, the contemporary release of PCDD/Fs to the environment from pesticide use is poorly understood. For this study, 27 pesticide formulations were analyzed for PCDD/Fs (n = 23 registered for use in Australia). PCDD/F impurities were present in all samples, ranging from 0.020 to 2100 ng ΣPCDD/F g−1 active ingredient (AI). Among current use pesticides, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) contained the highest impurity levels (up to 2000 ng ΣPCDD/F g−1 AI and 5.6 ng TEQ g−1 AI). The quantity of pesticide used in Australia and associated release of PCDD/Fs was estimated for PCNB and phenoxy herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxybutyric acid (2,4-DB)) using a probabilistic approach. Input parameters to model pesticide use contributed the highest proportions to the variability of the estimated PCDD/F release, and were considered to have the highest uncertainty. Preliminary estimates of PCDD/F release suggest that contaminated pesticides represent an important ongoing PCDD/F source to the Australian environment (10th−90th percentiles for PCNB = 14−42 and 2,4-D/2,4-DB = 0.35−1.6 g TEQ annum−1). These results may have global relevance given that many of the pesticides analyzed were imported into Australia, and are used in high volumes in other countries.

Pesticide Impurities

by George Claxton
Did you ever notice that most pesticides do not have impurities listed. A new study from Australia tested the impurities in two forms of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. 2,4-D was half of the herbicide Agent Orange. The manufacturers would have the world believe that 2,4-D contained no toxins such as Polychlorinated Dioxins or Polychlorinated Difurans.

The study titled "Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs. Impurities in Pesticides: A Neglected Source of Contemporary Relevance". This was published in the journal "Environmental Science and Technology", accepted June 7, 2010. The authors were Eva Holt, et al.

The authors stated that "PCDD/F impurities were present in all samples". Also, "Preliminary estimates of PCDD/F release suggest that contaminated pesticides represent an important ongoing PCDD/F source to the Australian Government". These results may have global relevance given that many of the pesticides analyzed were imported into Australia, and are used in high volumes in other countries".

Wounds of the Vietnam War

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/agent-orange-07202010172252.html

BYLINE: Riz Khan

Millions of Vietnamese are still dealing with the impact of the Vietnam War more than three decades after its end. Generations are suffering from the effects of Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant used by the US military to strip the land of vegetation to deny food sources and hiding places for Viet Cong fighters.

View the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNNiFB1oTi0

Calls to Clean Up Vietnam

http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/agent-orange-07202010172252.html

Dioxin left by Agent Orange used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War still plagues the Southeast Asian country, and tens of millions of dollars are needed to clean up “hot spots” where concentrations are especially high, U.S. officials say.

High on that list is the airport at Da Nang, Vietnam’s third-largest city, John Wilson, technical support director for USAID’s Asian and Middle East bureaus, told a recent hearing by a House of Representatives subcommittee, noting that the airport is scheduled for a major expansion.

“Given the extent of contamination, the imminent airport construction plans, and the potential threat to the local population, it is important that we act now to remediate the dioxin at Da Nang airport to ensure that airport construction work does not increase exposure to dioxin for area residents and travelers,” Wilson said.

Read more at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/agent-orange-07202010172252.html

Agent Orange Cleanup: A Priority for Hillary Clinton in Vietnam

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/20/agent-orange-cleanup-a-priority-for-hillary-clinton-in-vietnam/

BYLINE: Eleanor Clift

The last stop on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Asian tour this week is Vietnam, where she will discuss among other things an enduring remnant of the war, the after-effects of Agent Orange. The U.S. government belatedly recognized the impact of the deadly defoliant on American troops, but has resisted accepting responsibility for the damage the chemical inflicted on the Vietnamese with birth defects still evident decades after the end of the war.

Clinton, who arrives in Vietnam Thursday, is expected to address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam to encourage support for a $300 million, 10-year plan developed by the Aspen Institute as part of the U.S.-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin to clean up dioxin "hot spots" and help people with disabilities, while stopping short of linking those disabilities to the Agent Orange spraying.

Common Cause head Bob Edgar, a member of the Dialogue Group and an ordained minister, described to reporters in a conference call how he and a group of clergy on a recent trip to Vietnam could see and smell the virulent defoliant still seeping out of the ground in Da Nang , a major port city in Vietnam .

He told how a guide had them stop ahead of time in Ho Chi Minh City to buy waterproof, disposable shoes, and when they landed at the Da Nang aiport and saw the devastation, realized why they needed them. The airport was the major U.S. air base during the war, serving as the supply depot for Agent Orange, and the toxic chemicals have not been cleaned up. Edgar described walking on a platform over the area where the dioxin was processed, and where U.S. troops would cut the barrels in half and use them to cook their food.

Read more at: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/20/agent-orange-cleanup-a-priority-for-hillary-clinton-in-vietnam/

Clinton vows to increase cooperation on Agent Orange

(AFP) – 1 day ago

HANOI — United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a visit to Vietnam Thursday, vowed to increase cooperation in dealing with the legacy of the wartime herbicide Agent Orange.

US aircraft sprayed the chemicals during the Vietnam War to strip trees of foliage in order to deprive communist Viet Cong forces of cover and food.

"We've been working with Vietnam for about nine years to try to remedy the effects of Agent Orange. I will work to increase our cooperation and make even greater progress together," Clinton said at a press conference on the sidelines of a regional security meeting.

Potentially cancer-causing dioxin was a component of Agent Orange and other herbicides sprayed by American forces.

Since 2007, the US Congress has appropriated nine million dollars to help Vietnam clean up the contamination, and for related health activities.

Experts have identified three former US air bases as "hot spots" of dioxin contamination, but decontaminating all three of them would cost an estimated 59 million dollars, most of which still needs to be committed, a United Nations adviser in Hanoi said last month.

A Vietnamese doctor testified before the US Congress last week that more than three million Vietnamese have suffered the effects of the herbicide.

Vietnam and the US normalised relations 15 years ago.

Secretary Clinton In Hanoi

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/world/asia/23diplo.html?emc=eta1

By MARK LANDLER
Published: July 22, 2010


HANOI, Vietnam — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton chided Vietnam on Thursday for intolerance of dissent and infringement of Internet freedom, even as she celebrated its 15 years of normalized relations with the United States.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a news conference with Pham Gia Khiem, Vietnam’s foreign minister, in Hanoi on Thursday.

Mrs. Clinton said she raised the issues of jailed democracy activists, attacks on religious groups and curbs on social-networking Web sites during a meeting with Vietnam’s deputy prime minister, Pham Gia Khiem.

The United States will prod Vietnam’s government “to pursue reforms and protect basic rights and freedoms,” she said at a news conference, as Mr. Khiem stood expressionless beside her.

“Vietnam, with its extraordinary, dynamic population, is on the path to becoming a great nation, with an unlimited potential,” she added. “That is among the reasons we expressed concern.”

Mr. Khiem replied that human rights policies were rooted in unique cultural and historical circumstances. He cited what he said was President Obama’s observation that countries should be allowed to choose their own paths and that human rights should not be imposed from outside.

The timing of Mrs. Clinton’s remarks here, at the start of a two-day stop that includes an Asian regional security meeting, suggested that she wanted to make her point and move on. She emphasized that the United States would increase cooperation on trade and investment, and would do more to help people suffering lingering effects from Agent Orange, a chemical spray the American military used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War.

Study: Troops Have Higher Rates of Some Cancers

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/military_cancer_rates_statistics_072010w/?utm_source=twitterfeed

After looking at 10 years’ worth of cancer data, researchers at the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center found that service members tend to have higher rates of melanoma, brain, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast, prostate and testicular cancers than civilians.
They also found interesting differences across the services. Airmen are more likely to suffer skin cancer than other service members, for example, while sailors are the most likely to have lung cancer. Coast Guardsmen have the highest rates of testicular cancer, while Marines tend to the have the lowest cancer rates overall.
Military researchers say the rates have remained stable — though the incidence rate of these particular kinds of cancer has increased from 51 per 100,000 troops in 2000, to 57.5 per 100,000 in 2006, and then back down to 54.5 per 100,000 in 2009. “There were no clear trends of increasing or decreasing incidence of specific [cancer] sites or overall” cancer rates, the report states. “In general, the strongest demographic correlate of increased risk of a cancer was older age.”
That held true for all cancers except for cervical and testicular, the report states.

READ MORE: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/military_cancer_rates_statistics_072010w/?utm_source=twitterfeed

Sharon Perry

http://vva.org/Committees/AgentOrange/Perry031610.pdf

Even when the letter came in 1984, Sharon Perry and her late husband, Reuben “Bud” Perry III, didn’t make any connection with Agent Orange. No red flags were raised about what was happening in their home, happening to him, happening to their daughters. The oldest, Danielle, would be sick all her life. The youngest, Lisbeth, would be diagnosed with autism — but not until she was 26. Lisbeth would have a son and he, too, would be diagnosed with autism. Bud would die in 2005 after many difficult years of dealing with the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
But in 1984, they stood in the kitchen, reading the letter about a class-action suit brought on behalf of veterans who may be suffering from the lingering effects of Agent Orange. They didn’t think it had anything to do with them.
“I’ll always remember standing in the kitchen and looking at one another and saying to him, ‘you’re not sick,’ ” she said.
She saved the letter anyway.

READ MORE:
http://vva.org/Committees/AgentOrange/Perry031610.pdf

Another View

by Chuck Searcy
With due respect to the good work Jim Doyle has done and continues to do, with this blog and other activities focused on Agent Orange and the legacies of the war in Vietnam, the criticism of Charles Bailey is inaccurate. It fails to acknowledge the significant contributions Charles and the Ford Foundation have made toward recognizing not only the suffering of American vets exposed to Agent Orange -- which has been well documented over the years and has resulted in at least some assistance to veterans -- but which NOW, finally, is starting to bring some attention to the Vietnamese who have suffered alone and mostly in silence for more than three decades. This problem is inclusive, and the solutions ought to be inclusive as well. Charles Bailey's article does note the burdens borne by American vets and their families, which opened the door to awareness of this terrible issue. But the point is that the door needs to be opened wider for the Vietnamese, as well. If we insist that health interventions and other benefits should focus on American vets and not the Vietnamese, we are giving excuses to those who will try to stall and derail long overdue interventions that should be directed toward all who suffer, Vietnamese as well as Americans.

It must be noted that Chuck and I are friends, and this is a dialogue, not an argument.
Jim Doyle